USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Soil and Crop Modeling

* Applications are reviewed on a rolling-basis.

A research opportunity is currently available withthe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS),located in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. ARS will deliver cutting-edge, scientific tools and innovative solutions for American farmers, producers, industry, and communities to support the nourishment and well-being of all people; sustain our nation’s agroecosystems and natural resources;

and ensure the economic competitiveness and excellence of our agriculture. The vision of the agency is to provide global leadership in agricultural discoveries through scientific excellence.

The Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research Unit (EIDMRU) within the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (DFRC) has an opportunity for aPost Doctoral Research Fellow to engage in aprocess and statistical modeling research opportunity focused on improving nutrient use efficiency in Midwest dairy agroecosystems. You will participate closely with USDA-ARS Research Soil Scientists to apply a whole farm process model (Ruminant Farm Systems model-Soil and Crop Module;

RuFaS-SCM) to predict crop yields, nutrient uptake and losses; perform model calibration/validation as needed. In addition, you will have an opportunity to use well established crop/farm decision support tools to quantify cropping system, nutrient input, and weather impacts on soil erosion and losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in surface runoff from long-term paired watersheds.

Results of the study will improve nutrient use efficiency and advance our knowledge of dairy agroecosystem soil-plant-nutrient interactions. In addition, results will support dairy and agri-environmental stakeholder efforts to improve nutrient loss prediction and development and application of the RuFaS-SCM.

You will participate alongside USDA-ARS and university scientists on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in surface runoff losses in the dairy forage system.

• Apply RuFaS-SCM to support USDA-ARS research priorities in nutrient use efficiency and dairy agroecosystem sustainability.
• Use model calibration, validation, and performance evaluation using USDA-ARS long-term datasets to develop manure nutrient management strategies in the dairy agroecosystem.
• Evaluate crop and farm decision-support tools to evaluate how management practices and weather influence soil erosion and nutrient runoff.
• Understand soil–plant–nutrient interactions that influence sustainability in dairy forage systems.

The mentor forthis opportunity is Pradip Adhikari (pradip.adhikari). If you have questions about the nature of the research,please contact the mentor(s).

2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety offactors.

The appointment will initially be for one year, but may berenewed upon recommendation of ARSand is contingent on the availability of funds.

The appointment is full time.

The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and ARS.Participants do not become employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.

Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process,please emailORISE.ARS.Midwest and include the reference code for this opportunity.